Flooding in Northern California prompted mandatory evacuations in parts of the state.

In San Jose, an overflowing Coyote Creek shut down Highway 101 in Morgan Hill and created a water world Tuesday.

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Water gushing from Anderson Dam caused a levee breach in Coyote Canal.

Flood waters from Coyote Canal began rushing over Highway 101's northbound lanes at 10:45 a.m. No estimation time was given as to when the highway would reopen.

Water officials have been releasing 69 million gallons of water every day over the past two weeks from Anderson Dam because a deluge of winter rainstorms caused Anderson Reservoir to brim far over its capacity.

Coyote Creek rose to moderate flood stage at 13.5 feet, just a few inches below its major flood stage, at noon.

Thunderstorms packed with lightning, erratic winds, hail, and downpours are forecast to arrive in the San Francisco Bay Area at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Driving conditions will continue to be hazardous.

A rainfall-fueled runoff in San Jose from Anderson Reservoir swamped low-lying neighborhoods and emergency crews had to rescue residents trapped in cars and houses. San Jose city officials declared a local emergency Tuesday in response to the dangerous flooding.

A dozen horses were stranded at one ranch in about three feet of water for several hours. Volunteers who showed up hoping to rescue the horses lined up trailers outside the ranch. The horses' owner was eventually able to evacuate all of the animals to safety.

"We've had very serious flooding," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said. "We've got several feet of water that has inundated cars and an entire story of homes."

San Jose Fire Department Capn. Mitch Matlow said the situation was unlike anything he's ever seen during his 35 years of working in Santa Clara County.

"This is the worst flooding and water rescue situation that I have personally participated in," he said.

Nearly 200 people living in the Rock Springs neighborhood near Senter Road and Phelan Avenue were evacuated. Flood waters tall enough to cover cars and creep above front doors forced rescue teams to deploy boats and go door-to-door searching for stranded residents and motorists. Babies and pets were among those on rescue boats.

Fire crews decontaminated victims who came in contact with flood water because it was polluted with gasoline, oil, sewage and chemicals.

Coyote Creek continued rising Tuesday and is expected to remain at flood stage until Wednesday night.

San Jose city spokesman David Vossbrink said the amount of water flowing out of Anderson Reservoir is almost unprecedented.

"The water district is telling us that they're not seen this level of flows coming down the Anderson spillway in their experience so that really does create a situation that is new for everybody," he said.

Waterways are swelling from the latest atmospheric river that poured on the Central Coast Monday. Flash flooding from Santa Rita Creek and the Carmel River set off evacuations in Salinas and Carmel. A mudslide landed on a house in Royal Oaks.

Thousands of residents in Monterey County and Santa Cruz County have been without power since Friday's powerful windstorm blew 70 mph gusts.

The biggest outages remain in Prunedale and Salinas, where more than 3,000 customers have been without power since last Friday. On the Monterey Peninsula, 2,250 customers remain in the dark.

All schools in the North Monterey County Unified School District were closed on Tuesday because of flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road closures.

A cold front will move into the Central Coast later this week.

The National Weather Service wrote, "Rain showers will gradually decrease in coverage and intensity this evening before dissipating overnight tonight. Cold overnight temperatures are expected for tomorrow night through Saturday morning as a result of cold air advection from this storm, clearing skies, and lighter winds. Widespread low to mid 30s are expected for inland valley locations away from any shorelines, with locally colder temperatures (mid to upper 20s) possible for the most extreme inland locations. Models are converging on a cold, wet, and windy storm system moving through the area through this weekend."